The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. After delays caused by the pandemic, the process of...
Marc Zienkiewicz
Marc Zienkiewicz
Marc Zienkiewicz spent a decade working as a reporter, photographer, and finally a managing editor for what was then Canada’s largest newspaper chain. Over the years he received numerous Manitoba Community Newspapers Association awards for his writing and photography, and most recently has won Canadian Farm Writers Federation awards for his writing and podcasting. Believing that it's important to be involved in the industry you work in, he currently is a member of the Seeds Canada Advocacy and Communications Committee. He lives on a quarter-section of land in Brightstone, Man., with his wife Laura and their dog, two cats and two horses.
Looking Towards the Future
It’s a brave new world out there, and two Albertans are poised to do very exciting things which could have a big...
Canadian Seed Growers Association Members Vote No to Seeds Canada Merger
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. Canadian Seed Growers’ Association members have voted...
Seed Industry Works to Break Down “Silos” in Final Hours of Seeds Canada Voting
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. With tomorrow being the final opportunity for...
Provincial Seed Grower Groups in Myth-Busting Mode as Seeds Canada Vote Deadline Approaches
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. With just a few days left for Canadian Seed Growers...
Taking the First Step: Insights from the First Seeds Canada Webinar
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. The first of three Seeds Canada information webinars...
Five Things to Know About Seeds Canada
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. Subject to member approval, our five associations...
Why it’s Time to Make Seeds Canada a Reality
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. Those who were there at the beginning say discussions...
Field Pea Varieties Added to SVUA Pilot Program
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. The Seed Variety Use Agreement (SVUA) pilot program...
Business Allowed to Continue Despite Travel Restrictions
The following piece is from our sister publication, Germination. After some uncertainty last week surrounding the...
Temporary Foreign Workers Will be Able to Enter Canada, But There May be a Catch
At a news conference this week, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said temporary foreign workers will be allowed entry...
The Blockchain Revolution Begins
The future is now for farm-to-table traceability thanks to a pilot project that used blockchain technology to follow...
A Canola Pricing Strategy
Neil Blue takes a look at the canola futures market in a strong carrying charge situation. Canadian canola stocks at...
A Vision of Canada’s Next-Gen Seed System
The Seed Synergy White Paper lays out three main policy positions designed to move Canadian seed into the future. The...
Beyond Breeding
For Jamie Larsen, an exciting part of this year’s meeting of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and...
Starting from Scratch
In the cannabis sphere, genetics is only the beginning as breeders work to understand the plant and create the next...
Crop Scientists Help Crack the Durum Wheat Genome
A year after University of Saskatchewan researchers played a key role in decoding the genome for the bread wheat...
China has Stopped Buying all Canadian Canola Seed
Trade tensions with China concerning Canadian canola seed just escalated. Canola seed exporters report that Chinese...
Does the CSGA Need a New Membership Model?
It’s common knowledge that the Canadian Seed Growers Association has 3,500 members. But is that really the case? It...
Value Creation: The Australian Experience
The land Down Under has had an end point royalty system for grain in place since the early 2000s. Here’s what that...
Beyond Breeding: 2019 PGDC Update
The 2019 meeting of the Prairie Grain Development Committee saw breeders focus not just on how they do their work, but...
7 Ways Seed-Applied Technologies are Evolving
From boosting yield to helping you look at what you’re trying to accomplish on the farm, these products hold a lot of...
The Scoop on Seed Synergy
An attempt to forge a next-generation seed system for Canada is gaining speed. Here’s what you need to know about...
“Pardon Me – Do You Have Any Grey Poupon?”
The first hybrid brown mustard and a whopping 61 other cultivars were put forward for registration at this year’s...
Is Intercropping The Future?
Lethbridge-based Eric Bremer, head of R&D for Western Ag Innovations, has learned a thing or two about...
Flipping The Switch
For global researchers studying epigenetics, looking at the surface of the genome could be the key to discovering the...
Brave New World
The development and testing of the xarvio app holds lessons for seed growers and breeders, including the importance of...
A Look Through the Single Window
The Seed Synergy Collaboration Project is exploring the enhancement of the client/member experience through an...
From Mergers to Royalties: Views on Seed Synergy
Members of the Seed Synergy oversight committee — and the president of CropLife Canada — shed some light on how they...
What’s a Trailing Royalty and How Does it Work?
At its annual meeting in Montreal in July, the Canadian Seed Trade Association’s Intellectual Property (IP) Committee...
CSAAC and CSI are Looking to Merge
This proposed marriage of two seed sector associations shows just why the Seed Synergy model of trust and...
Seed Synergy Project Could Culminate in 5 Groups Merging
The Canadian seed industry could possibly see five of its six associations merge into one as the Seed Synergy...
Why the NAPB is Holding its Annual Meeting Outside the U.S. for the First Time
The National Association of Plant Breeders 2018 meeting will have a decidedly Canadian flair. For the first time in...
Tom Steve’s New Project is Kind of a Big Deal
To quote fictional anchorman Ron Burgundy, what Tom Steve is currently working on is — in wheat circles — kind of a...
We Need to Talk About Mental Health
The launch of the Do More Ag Foundation is helping shed light on mental health struggles among farmers, and how we can...
Breathing Life into Flax
With only one public breeding program left for the crop in Western Canada, flax researchers are trying to get growers...
Should the Seed Sector Start from Scratch?
The new Seed Synergy green paper lays out a proposed vision for a next-generation Canadian seed system. They key to a...
CSI Contemplates a Responsive Role for the Future
As executive director of the single point of contact for many seed processing and testing establishments in Canada,...
Keeping Up with Alfalfa Advances
Whether it’s new conventional varieties with better winter hardiness and disease resistance, there’s a lot happening...
The Next-Generation Seed System
The CSGA and CSTA are two of six associations working to revamp how the industry functions. If the seed regulatory...
Working Toward Better Seed Testing
Meeting the industry’s future needs for quality seed testing services is the major goal of the Commercial Seed...
PGDC on the Cutting-Edge
Gene editing and climate change were major topics on the agenda at this year’s meeting of the Prairie Grain...
Share Your Vision, Shape Your Industry
Be part of the discussion as the CSGA and Canadian seed industry engages its membership online. In July 2016, the...
Alberta Municipalities Resolve to Block GM Alfalfa
The Alberta Association Of Municipal Districts & Counties (AAMDC) has passed a resolution designed to prevent...
Plant Breeding 101
The process of plant breeding can be a long and complicated one, but we talk to three experts who boil it all down....
Syngenta Launches Apron Maxx with Intego Co-pack Targeting Root Rot in Pulses
Syngenta Canada launches a new co-pack, Apron Maxx with Intego, for western Canadian pulse growers looking to control...
Podcast: Cropping Alternatives 2016 Available
Alberta Agriculture has just released the Cropping Alternatives tool for 2016. In this short podcast, Rawlin...
Alberta Had Most Honeybee Colonies in Canada in 2015
New numbers from Statistics Canada confirm Alberta as the top honey producing province in Canada. “Alberta produced...
Alberta Barley Board Re-elects Chairman and Vice-Chairman
Alberta Barley’s board of directors has re-elected director-at-large Mike Ammeter as chairman and region three...
Nine Billion People? Not Until 2065, Basse Says
AgResource Company president Dan Basse returned to the American Seed Trade Association's Corn & Sorghum Seed...
Hemp, Fababeans and Ethoiopian Mustard are Making Their Mark on Alberta
Niche noun \’nich also ’n’sh or ’nish\ A distinct segment of a market Although Jan Slaski will admit that hemp...